Chennai, May 5 (IANS): In a partial reversal of its decision, the Tamil Nadu government has decided not to open liquor outlets in Chennai till further notice.

The state government on Monday had announced that it would open the liquor outlets from May 7 onwards. The shops will function between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

However, on Tuesday the government without giving any reasons said the liquor outlets in Chennai will continue to remain closed till a fresh date for their reopening is announced.

The liquor retail in Tamil Nadu is a state monopoly run by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation or popularly known as Tasmac.

There are over 5,300 Tasmac liquor outlets in the state contributing about Rs 30,000 crore of tax revenue to the state exchequer.

The revenue from the liquor bottle sales was bottled up during the lockdown period.

The Tamil Nadu government said in order to control the movement of people in the border areas with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as liquor shops have been opened there, the decision to open the liquor shops in the state was taken.

Major opposition parties in the state had strongly criticised the government's decision to open the liquor outlets at a time when the number of persons getting infected with Coronavirus in the state are on the rise.

On Monday, the number of persons testing positive for Coronavirus in Chennai was 266 and in the state it was 527.